Self-Promotion Tips & Tricks

One of the most important things you can do as a photographer is interact with the general public a.k.a. your audience. Often you don’t have a lot of time to sit down with them, have a nice chat over coffee, and explain what you photograph, how, and why. You need a memorable leave-behind that will intrigue them enough to get them to come back to your website or blog (ahem!), look at your work in depth, and interest them in hiring your services or buying your work.

business card portfolio box, by Moo
I’ve made multiple attempts at business cards of various designs. They’ve all been reasonably successful, but I think a lot of them have been too busy, graphically speaking. I saw an ad on Facebook with a promo code for Moo, who print business cards with a few unique touches, and decided I’d try them out. One of the features they offer is the ability to print many different designs in small batches- you can do one design for your text side, and upload up to 50 images to put on the back. Print runs start as small as 50 cards, so you could end up with all your cards being unique.

travel portfolio

In this case, I wanted to do two different lines of cards, to promote my portrait work and my travel photography. I uploaded ten images from each of my relevant portfolios and had a run of 200 cards printed. Above you can see the travel portfolio in the mini card holder box that came with the cards. The card box makes a great display piece for on a table or desk.

portrait portfolio Here is the portrait portfolio. That’s another benefit to the Moo business cards- with the multiple designs, you can carry an entire portfolio in your pocket all the time.

business card profile
The third quality I really appreciate is the paper stock options. I opted for the premium heavy-weight paper stock with a middle ply in an accent color, in this case black. It’s yet another characteristic that can set your cards apart from everyone else.

Wether you’re handing out cards to individuals or making a mini presentation portfolio to mail to a potential client, Moo cards can help you stand out. You can get more information about them by going to Moo.com. In addition to the square cards, they have traditional rectangular cards, mini cards, and other promotional products on a range of paper stocks to fit a wide range of budgets.

About DC Photoartist

Scott Davis is a large format photographer working with antique and historic photographic processes. His work has been exhibited internationally. He is a published author on platinum/palladium printing, and teaches classes in platinum/palladium and gum bichromate techniques. His personal work includes the DC cityscape and the human figure.